Table of Contents
Unique and Core Fields
All Items within the Pergamon database are comprised of two separate records - the unique record and the core record. Each record may also be comprised of various components, but as far a possible all areas of both records are presented together for editing as seamlessly as possible.
MU Users
The Unique and Core record system is invisibly merged into the perception of a single record. You do not need to know the Unique / Core record control system as this is managed for you automatically. The rest of this article can be ignored.
Unique record
The unique record component contains information which is specifically connected with an individual Item as stored within the library. Two copies of the same book for example, would each have its own unique record and therefore have their own HID, whether each copy is active, information about where it is located, and even what state the copy is in (for example, normal or damaged).
Core record
The core record component contains information which would be the same for a range of Items, regardless of how many copies exist in the library. Two copies of the same DVD for example, contains the same content, has been published by the same publisher, has the same actors and directors, and has the same certification.
As this information will always be the same between these copies, regardless of how many copies are stored in the library, only a single core record is created and is shared between each database Item.
While it is possible that only a single copy of any particular Item may be within the database, this single copy will still consist of a unique and core component.
